


Free! - Sink to the Bottom

by ImmediatelyWriting



Category: Free!
Genre: A little bit of Ai, A little bit of Momo, A little bit of Sousuke, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Car Accidents, Childhood Friends, Drowning, Emotional, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Free! - Freeform, Free! Eternal Summer, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Haru - Freeform, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Japanese Character(s), Manga & Anime, Nanase Haruka and Mackerel, New Chapter every Sunday!, New Chapter every Thursday!, Paralysis, Plot, Pool, Pre- Regionals Free, Pre-Free! Dive to the Future, Regionals, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sickfic, Soup is mostly water, Swimming, Swimming Pools, Tears, Tournaments, Water, haru nanase - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-01-21 08:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 13,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21296309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmediatelyWriting/pseuds/ImmediatelyWriting
Summary: Swimming with his friends… that’s something Haruka cares about. But will he ever be able to do what he loved when he suddenly ends up in the hospital after getting hit by a car?And will he and his friends be able to deal with this?
Kudos: 21





	1. Part 1 - Chapter 1: Daydreaming

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own these characters, they belong to the anime "Free!". 
> 
> Have fun reading, let me know if you find anything that could be improved or things you really like. I can always use some good feedback :)
> 
> \- ImmediatelyWriting

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

It’s the day before Regionals, and I don’t think I’ve ever been nervous for a tournament before. I run through the streets. It already was dark outside when I left the hotel Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and I are staying for the night.

The people expect me to “wow” them, but I don’t know if I can do that.

I feel a cold shiver run down my spine when I imagine standing on the starting block. Swimming the Regionals, it’ll be scary. All of those people will be looking, expecting me to do great.

But what if I have a bad day?

I turn around a corner.

What if I fuck up?

My feet tap the ground lightly as I jog.

Will Makoto, Rei and Nagisa be angry with me?

I run faster, trying to shake off the fear.

Would I disappoint everyone?

I keep running. My eyes close and I imagine standing on the starting block.

_The water is not far beneath me, I want to jump in. _

_I can’t. _

_My feet are glued to the starting block. The signal to jump sounds, but I can’t jump. _

_Everyone jumps in, but I can’t. _

I shake my head. I shouldn’t think of it like that.

It’s not like I care about winning or losing.

But I do.

I take another turn to the left, without opening my eyes. 

_I’m still glued to the starting block, trying to jump into the shining water. _

_Everyone has already reached the second wall. When I’m finally able to jump in, I can’t swim anymore. _

But how? I know how to swim freestyle.

_I slowly sink and when I’m almost at the bottom…_

I open my eyes when I hear a loud honk. I turn around, staring into the headlights of a car.

It’s just now that I realize that I’m running on the middle of the street.

Another honk, but no slowing down of the car.

It’s driving too hard and I can’t run away. I try to, but I’m not fast enough.

The front of the car hits me with a lot of force. After hearing a loud _crack, _I fly into the air.

The burning pain in my back is unbearable.

I shriek when I fall onto the front of the car and my spine feels like it’s going to split in two.

Someone curses when I hit the windshield with my head. It feels like shards of glass cut though my skin, through my skull.

One painful sting in my head and everything turns black.


	2. Part 1 - Chapter 2: Haruka

** _Makoto Tachibana_ **

This was the last thing I expected.

Yes, I expected that Haruka might be nervous, or something.

But this isn’t the same by far.

This morning I got woken up by a phone call from the hospital; Haruka had a car accident… A few hours before the Regionals.

We already had to get up early, but because I saw the voicemail after I woke up, we couldn’t all go to the hospital before the tournament. So Gou and coach Sasabe went, while Rei, Nagisa and I need to swim the Regionals.

I try to keep my hands from shaking while I watch Rin’s team passing me by. Rin doesn’t know about what happened to Haruka yet.

I look at Nagisa and Rei, who are both sadly staring at the floor. I stare at my bare feet as well and sigh. I can’t help but feel bad for being here instead of with Haruka at the hospital.

“Good luck out there.” I look up when I hear Rin’s voice. “Wait… where’s Haru?”

I glance away and say, “About that.” How am I going to tell him this? Rin probably really looked forward to swimming against him. “Haruka… He was hit by a car yesterday evening. He won’t be competing today.”

Rin frowns at me and laughs nervously. “This is a joke, right?”

I sadly shake my head. “No, unfortunately it isn’t.”

“What about Freestyle?” he asks. “And the relay?”

I look at Nagisa and Rei, who’ve also realized that we cannot swim those. “We won’t be competing in those.”

Rin angrily stares at his feet and clenches his fists. “Is he okay?”

I shrug. “We haven’t been able to go to the hospital yet.”

“Don’t worry. Knowing Haru, he’s fine.” Rin looks at me and I see that that’s a lie.

Rin gets called over by one of his teammates and he mumbles that he has to go.

“Rin?” Nagisa asks before Rin leaves, his voice soft and quiet. “You are coming to the hospital with us, after the tournament? Aren’t you?”

I look at Nagisa. His eyes are red from crying. I think neither one of us is going to swim great today.

I look back at Rin, he nods once. “Of course.” Then he leaves, running to his team and acting like nothing’s going on.


	3. Part 1, Chapter 3: World's Worst Swim

** _Nagisa Hazuki_ **

I dry my hair while I walk back to the tribune where Rei is cheering on Makoto. He stops cheering him on when I arrive and say, “I swam horribly, I’m sorry.”

I ended last place, because I wasn’t focusing enough on swimming.

Rei shrugs and gestures at the swimming pool down below. Makoto is swimming the backstroke now. He’s far behind.

“Well, you’re not the only one,” Rei admits.

He’s right. While the others have already made the turn, Makoto is not even close to the wall.

I’m worried about him.

Not because he’s going to lose this swim, but because he’s been so quiet from the moment the hospital called about Haru. I think he’s even ten times more worried than Rei and I are.

Rei gets up from his seat and readjusts his glasses. “I’ve gotta go.”

I nod.

Rei is the next, and last one of us to swim. I don’t think we’re staying to watch the relay, because we’re not swimming anyway.

Rei walks away and when he’s gone, I look back at the swimming pool to see that Makoto’s finally finished. He ended in last place; I don’t think this has ever happened to him before.

He pushes himself out of the pool, almost slipping back in because of exhaustion.

It’s Rei’s turn to swim not long after Makoto’s walked away from the swimming pool.

The start signal sounds, but Rei doesn’t jump in on time. He’s almost ten seconds later than the rest of the butterfly swimmers.

“Come on! Rei!” I yell as loud as I can. I have to cheer him on, even though I don’t really feel like it. “Push it!”

He’s slow, almost even slower than he before he learned to swim. I wonder if he’s even going to make it to the first turn without sinking.

I turn around when I hear footsteps coming closer. It’s Makoto. His hair is still wet and he hasn’t even taken the time to dry off his body and put on his vest.

“You’re going to catch a cold.” This is something that usually would be said to me, but I don’t want Makoto to get sick.

Makoto shrugs.

A drip of water falls from his hair onto his lap. He looks sad. And I get it, I’m sad too. This could be our last time swimming together in a tournament if we didn’t make it to Nationals. Looking at how bad we’re doing, I think this will be our last time swimming together.

Of course, there’s swim training after school. We can still challenge Rin’s team for a relay when Haru gets out of the hospital; but it’s different.

I look at my lap and try to think of something more fun. Like Iwatobi Surprise bread, we should bring some to the hospital for Haru. As a “get well soon” present.

I shake my head. Mackerel would be a better choice… but there’s no way he’s going to be able to prepare that in the hospital.

I look down at the swimming pool and realize that, even though I try not to, I’m still thinking about Haru all the time.


	4. Part 1, Chapter 4: Sakura Blossom

** _Rin Matsuoka_ **

I clench the flowers in my hand while I walk through the doors. The smell of hospital hits me in the face when I walk into the welcome hall.

Not knowing where to go, I go to the reception desk. A young lady with pink hair is sitting behind it. She looks up from her computer screen when she notices me.

“Good afternoon, can I help you?” she asks politely.

“I came to visit Haruka Nanase,” I say and I blush when I see the receptionist looking at the flowers. She probably thinks Haru’s my partner. I lower the flowers until I’m sure she can’t see them anymore. “Do you know where I can find him?”

“I’ll take a look for you.” She looks back at her screen and scrolls with her mouse. “He should be on the second floor, in the HDU department, room H07.”

I thank the receptionist and try to find Haru’s room by following the signs to the HDU department. Sometimes it gets a bit confusing, because every halway looks pretty much the same.

After wandering through the hospital for a ten minutes, trying to follow the signs. I finally find a room numbered H07. I knock on the door before walking in.

The room is mostly full, since the entire Iwatobi swim club decided to visit Haru at the same time. My sister is also sitting on one of the chairs. She’s the first one to look up when I walk inside.

“How’s Haru doing?” I ask to no one in particular.

Rei and Nagisa look up when I talk, but Makoto keeps staring at Haru’s sleeping body.

Haru looks bad, worse than he’s ever looked before. He’s pale and he’s hooked up to some machines – including a heart monitor and a breathing machine. I bet he hasn’t woken up yet after the accident or he was too tired to stay awake longer.

“He’s been unconscious since the accident, but the doctors say he’s doing better than expected,” Gou eventually answers my question. “He’ll probably wake up somewhere this evening.”

I walk closer, and take a seat on the only empty chair left. I sit next to Makoto, next to Haru’s head. His face is turned in our direction and I see that his eyes are moving quickly under his eyelids.

Makoto is quiet, not saying a word. Not even when I ask him if he’s okay. He just shrugs, ignoring the question.

“Where can I put down the flowers?” I ask, gesturing at the flowers in my hand.

Gou’s the only one to reply. “There’s a vase here.” She gestures at a blue vase which is standing on a nightstand next to Haru’s bed. “I can put them in there if you want.”

I nod, handing over the flowers to Gou. She looks at them before putting them in the vase. Her eyes go sad for a single second. “Are those…”

“Sakura blossom?” I finish her sentence. “Yes.”

She mumbles something inaudible and a giggles afterwards.

I look back at Haru. I wonder if he’s in pain, I hope not. If he is when he wakes up, he probably won’t even say anything about it.

“Did the doctors say anything else?” I ask, looking at everyone one by one.

I see that all of their faces have saddened even more. They seem nervous.

“What?” I ask. “Can someone please tell my why you all seem too nervous to answer to my question?”

Gou glances away, while Nagisa, Rei and Makoto completely ignore my question.

“What?” I need to know what’s going on, because my mind is already making up what could be wrong with Haru.

Brain damage? Or broken neck?

I shake away the thought and wait for an answer to come from someone.

“Well,” Gou begins after hesitating for a moment.

I hear Makoto groaning next to me and then he says, “They made a CT scan of Haru’s back when he arrived in the emergency room and it appears that he’s got spinal cord damage. Haruka might not be able to walk again. Not ever.”

Never… walk? That means no swimming as well.

“Makoto, not so pessimistic!” Nagisa yells at Makoto. “They said they can’t know for sure until Haru’s awake.”

Makoto stands of with a lot of force, making the chair fly across the room. He angrily looks at Nagisa. They’re both crying. “Oh yeah? Doesn’t _severe fractures in the lower back_ sound like it could probably cause paralysis? What do you think, Nagisa?” I never heard Makoto yell this loudly. He sounds genuinely furious. “Because it does sound quite obvious to me.”

After that Makoto leaves the room, followed by Gou, who probably wants to calm him down.

I look down at my lap and my glance moves from my black sweats to Haru.

Please, don’t let this be true. Haru and swimming is one and the same. They can’t go on without each other.

I close my eyes and listen to the _beeping_ of the heart monitor and the _buzzing _of the breathing machine. I breathe in and out slowly.

Please… not Haru.


	5. Part 1, Chapter 5: Blur

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

M-my head hurts. Why does my head hurt?

I groan and I feel that I have a dry and sore throat. It hurts, but why?

The sound of something clattering onto the ground startles me. The loud noise makes my head feel like it’s going to explode.

What was that?

The screeching noise is followed by screaming. The voices sound far away, though yet very close.

I want to open my eyes, but my eyelids are too heavy. I can’t get them to open.

The voices keep on yelling and when I listen very closely I hear who’s the one yelling. It’s Makoto.

Makoto… yelling? This can’t be right.

What happened?

I listen very closely, I need to know what happened. With every high squeak Makoto makes while yelling, painful stings find their way to my head.

His voice sounds loud… though muffled. It’s hard to hear him, but I can decipher a few words. “Fractures… back… paralysis… Nagisa.” What could it mean?

I’ve never heard of some of these words, what do they mean. Nagisa is obvious, but the rest… not so much.

Is something wrong with Nagisa? Is he okay?

I try to think of what he’s trying to say about Nagisa. But my thinking is disturbed by a loud bang, which makes my head produce an awful sting.

I feel like yelling, it hurts so much. But no sound leaves my mouth.

I’m tired, but I don’t feel like sleeping.

I’m hungry for mackerel. And I want to swim.

I try a little harder to open my eyes.

Focus. Focus harder!

I’m putting all my strength in trying to open my eyes. And eventually I succeed. 

Bright light immediately makes me regret opening my eyes.

I groan and turn my head away from the light source. Why can’t my head stop hurting? It’s annoying!

When my eyes are finally getting used to the ligh, I notice that I’m not home. I’m not at Makoto’s home either.

Where am I?

I look at the part of the room that I can see from this angle.

It’s small. Four white walls reflect the light perfectly, making the room seem even brighter.

There’s something in front of me blocking my vision.

I sigh.

Why does that annoying black thing has to be there? I look up to see what it is.

It’s large, it seems to go on forever. Black mostly, with some red and white stripes. What tasteless person put _that_ there.

I look up a little further. Some pink-ish color joins the color scheme of the thing and I realize that this might not be something decorating. It’s… a human?

With a bad taste of clothing.

I stare into two big, red eyes. A few seconds later a voice enters my mind. “Ehm, he’s waking up,” the voice mumbles. “I think.”

I clear my throat. It hurts a lot when I ask, “Rin? Is that you?”


	6. Part 1, Chapter 6: Fine

** _Rin Matsuoka_ **

Two blue eyes, clear as the ocean, stare at me. They’re slightly squeezed closed, because of the light.

Is he awake? Or waking up?

I can’t tell, because of the lack of expression on Haru’s face.

“Ehm,” I stammer. I feel both Nagisa’s and Rei’s eyes look at me. “He’s waking up. I think.”

I don’t take my eyes off of Haru, because somewhere deep inside I’m afraid that he might just disappear if I look away for a second.

“Rin?” Haru mumbles. He’s slurring his words, which makes it even harder to understand his mumbling. “Is that you?”

“Oh my god! He’s really awake!” Nagisa shrieks of happiness.

Haru frowns, just for a fraction of a second. After that his face turns blank again.

“N-Nagisa?” he asks. I can’t hear if he’s happy to hear Nagisa’s voice, or he’s concerned.

Nagisa leans closer to Haru, giggling when he almost falls. “Yes, Haru?”

“Are you okay?” Haru sounds slightly concerned. But why? Because Nagisa’s eyes are still red from crying, or did something else happen before Haru’s accident?

“What? Yes,” Nagisa answers, confused. “Are _you _okay?”

It takes Haru long to answer Nagisa’s question. I wonder if he’s hesitating about lying and speaking the truth. “Yes.”

“Maybe.” Rei enters the conversation as well. “But it’s still better if we get someone to take a look at you.”

Haru glances at Rei and mumbles, “Look at me?”

“Yes.” Rei is already making his way to the door.

Haru’s eyes follow Rei while he walks outside the hospital room. Rei is being followed by Nagisa.

After the door closes, Haru looks back at me.

There’s no expression on his face and still I can see that he’s confused.

Does he even know where he is? And why he’s here?

“How are you feeling?” I ask after a long and awkward silence.

Why is it taking Rei so long to find a nurse? To me, it feels like he’s first having a tea-party with the nurse before telling them about Haru.

I sigh.

“Fine.” But he doesn’t seem “fine” at all. He’s in the hospital to begin with, but he doesn’t seem to notice. His voice sounds croaky and hoarse, which also worries me, because I don’t recall Haru had a sore throat ever before. And finally, he could be paralyzed for all we know. And he’s “fine”?

“Are you sure?”

Haru nods with a serious face.

I don’t think I’ll ever understand this guy completely.

The door sways open and Makoto appears in the doorway. “Rei told me Haruka woke up! Is that true?”

Both hope and fear is very present in Makoto’s voice. The panting in between the words makes it obvious that Makoto ran all the way back to Haru’s room.

“I told you,” Haru mumbles, he sounds annoyed. “Don’t call me Haruka.”

Makoto walks past me, kneeling down next to Haru’s bed. “I’m sorry.”

I roll with my eyes. Haru really hates his full name, doesn’t he? He’s lying in a hospital… after a car crash… and Makoto calling him Haruka is what he’s worried about?

“How are you feeling?”

I already expect Haru to say that he’s “fine” and I also know that Makoto isn’t going to take that for an answer. Not from Haru.

“Why are you all so worried about me?” Haru sounds confused, annoyed even, maybe.

Before Makoto can answer, a nurse walks in. Followed by Rei, Nagisa and Gou.

“Good evening, Haruka.” The nurse made a huge mistake calling Haru by his first name, he’s never going to be honest with her now. He probably already hates her.

“Don’t call me that,” Haru mumbles, but the nurse ignores him. She turns around to us and says, “I would like to talk with Haruka for a moment. And I must run some tests.”

Her voice tells me that she doesn’t like our presence when she’s going to do that.

“It’d probably be better if you’d wait in the waiting room until we’re finished.”

Honestly, I think it would be better if one of us stayed, to help her figure out if Haru’s speaking the truth. But she’s a nurse. So, we all listen and leave the room.


	7. Part 1, Chapter 7: Questions and Scans

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

The nurse starts asking all kinds of questions. She starts with "How are you feeling, Haruka?" 

I look at her and answer by saying that she shouldn't call me Haruka. I hate her when she decides to ignore me and asks the question again.

"I'm fine," I say. "Why does everyone keep asking that?" 

She takes a deep breath and looks at me with a serious look on her face. 

"Do you know why you are in the hospital?" she asks. 

I slightly shake my head after trying to remember how I got here. 

She writes something down on a piece of paper and it's just now that I notice the file, which is lying on her lap. 

It looks like one of the tests I would get in school; fat question followed by a line to write on. 

My name is written down already. Her handwriting is so bad I almost don't notice she wrote down my full name.

I look back at her when she clears her throat. "You don't recall getting hit by a car, somewhere yesterday night?" 

I think back, but I don't recall... wait... Yesterday night was a few hours before the Regionals. 

I gasp. 

"What day is it?" I mumble. 

The nurse looks at me and frowns lightly. She tells me what day and time it is and I can't help it when a disappointed sigh escapes my mouth. 

I missed the Regionals... but what about my friends? They couldn't swim the relay because of me.

Makoto sounded to irritable. Was that... because of me?

I just hope they're not mad at me.

The nurse's eyes are staring at me while I'm lost in my thoughts. 

"I take that as a no?" she says after a while. "You don't recall it?"

I shake my head.

I vaguely remember a hard pain in my back all of a sudden, but I can't find any memories of how it happened.

"Okay." She writes something down again. I wish her handwriting was a little bit less awful, maybe I could figure out what she's writing about me.

"What about your back? Does it hurt?" 

I try to focus on my back. I haven't thought of the possibility of it being able to hurt. Even after long days of training, I never have experienced any backaches. 

Now, at this exact moment, my back does hurt... a lot. It feels like it's on fire, and like things are trying to squeeze through my skin from the inside.

It's weird.

Only the upper halve of my back hurts, below that I don't feel any pain.

"No." I glance away to hide that I'm lying.

She squints, looking at me in a way my mother would look at me when she caught me lying. "That's strange." 

I try not to show that I'm not speaking the truth, but she's looking straight through me. 

"We made a scan and saw that your spine was fractured quite badly in some spots," she says, her tone slightly annoyed, or maybe it’s just my imagination. "It's expected for a person to feel at least some pain." She pauses. "But if you don't feel any pain, we should maybe make another scan of your back, but you would have to stay still in scan for quite a while."

Not a scan! They're dark and genuinely creepy. A small space.

"Okay," I mumble. "My back does hurt... a little."

She nods and thanks me for speaking the truth. 

I shrug. It's not like I'm doing it for her.

"What about your legs?" she asks after a short silence.

I shrug and ask, "What about my legs?"

"Do they hurt? Do you feel them at all?"

I honestly have no idea why she's asking all of this. But she notices if I lie, so I decide to take this more serious and speak the truth.

I try to feel my legs, my somehow it feels like my body stops somewhere halfway my back. 

"Not so much," I say after a while, which makes the young nurse frown in confusion. 

"Not so much, what?" 

I sigh, maybe she could pay attention once. I just answered her question, I can't help she's stupid. 

"I don't feel them," I mumble. 

She nods once, writing that down immediately. After that she looks up and says, "So, your back hurts and you don't feel your legs?" Oh my god, she repeating it!?

"Yes."

She’s slowly starting to annoy me. Calling me Haruka, that's one thing, but also asking me things and literally repeating them less than a second later. Damn, she's so annoying!

“Can you move them?”

“What?”

“Your legs.”

I try to wiggle my toes, but I can’t feel whether something happens or not. I shrug. “Can’t feel.”

She nods and takes a deep breath. The scraping of her pen on the piece of paper is freaking me out. I feel like she’s going to rip the paper if she keeps going like that.

“Okay,” she says with a serious look on her face. Her brown eyes look in mine. I glance away.

She stays silent for a while and then says, “We’re going to have to make a scan to make sure you won’t need surgery.”

My mouth opens slightly by the thought of it.

What? Scan… Surgery… She’s got dark humor, doing that again.

“No.” I look at her and close my mouth again.

She’s confused. “No?”

I want to tell her “I just said that” but instead I say, “No scans… or surgery.”

She sighs, rolling her eyes at me. Who gave this job to this female, she’s so disrespectful.

“You have to,” she tells me, but I shake my head. I don’t _have _to do anything. “Yes, you do. Look, Haruka.” She pauses and clicks her tongue. “How do I say this?”

I shrug.

“We’re afraid that the fractures in your back might’ve caused paralysis.”

Fractures… and paralysis. I heard Makoto use those words. But he was talking about Nagisa.

But now that I think about it… Nagisa sounded confused when I asked him if he was okay. Was Makoto talking about me? Am I the cause of his anger?

I swallow, trying to get away the lump in my throat.

“If we don’t make this scan to see if you seed surgery…” I look at the nurse, I can’t believe she of all people has to tell this to me. Why can’t it just be Rin or Makoto sitting here in front of me? Why?

“… it might get even worse. You might never be able to walk again if we don’t make that scan. We must make that scan.”

No walking? You need your legs for walking, right? You need your legs for swimming? So that means…

I gasp.

“No.”

She angrily glances at me and asks, “Still no scan? Did you even listen to what I said?”

I feel cold and nauseous all of a sudden. “N-no swimming,” I stammer.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” she mumbles while glancing away. I don’t think I was meant to hear that. She looks back at me and says, “Let us make that scan. You’ll have a bigger chance of being able to walk… and swim again.”

But it’s dark and small. And it takes such a long time. It’ll be so scary. I don’t know if I can do it.

I swallow and nod once.

A glad smile appears on the nurse’s face. I was wondering if she even knew how to smile.

“Yeah?” Oh my god, just pay attention! “Okay, lets do it right now.”

“Now?” I ask.

No, I’m not ready for it yet. I’m still not sure if I can do it. Can I still take it back?

I nod.

Why do I keep doing that? I don’t want to!

She disappears behind me and suddenly my bed starts to move. I hold the mattress tightly.

I want to go back! I can’t do this!

We move through the hallways and eventually we stop in front of a room.

I really don’t want to go inside!

But we go in anyway.


	8. Part 1, Chapter 8: Sleepless

** _Makoto Tachibana_ **

I stare at the palms of my hands. Still wrinkled from the water.

I wonder if Haruka is doing okay. I wonder if the nurse got him to speak the truth.

Next to me Rin, Nagisa, Gou and Rei are sleeping. They’ve all fallen asleep somewhere around ten PM. It’s half past eleven by now.

I tried sleeping, but it didn’t work. Maybe because of Haruka, maybe because of the extra large cup of coffee Gou got us while we were waiting.

I sigh.

Why can’t I just be like Nagisa? He fell asleep less than a minute after drinking his coffee. He’s now sleeping with his head on Rei’s shoulder. Rei’s sleeping as well, his head carefully leaning onto Nagisa’s head and his glasses about to fall off his head. Gou’s sleeping as well, by now at least.

Then there’s Rin – he took a lot longer to fall asleep. I could clearly see that this sudden chance hit him deeply. It hit me deeply, too.

I stare into the distance, waiting for a doctor to walk to us. Waiting for anything, some kind of news.

But nothing happens.

My eyelids feel so heavy. After staring at the dark hallways for a little longer, my eyes finally start to close and I slowly move away from reality.

_My feet feel heavy as I stand on the starting block._

_I hear Nagisa and Rei and Gou cheer for me. _

_I look next to me; on one side there’s nothing, just a wall. On the other side of me there’s a starting block, and someone standing on it. _

_Purple goggles hide his eyes from me, but I know who it is. _

_It’s Haruka. _

_A loud noise sounds and Haruka dives into the water. His dive isn’t as neatly as normally, it’s less flawless. _

_Haruka falls into the water and he slowly but surely sinks to the bottom. _

_“Haruka!” I yell as I get ready to dive in myself. _

_I need to save him. I have to._

_“No!” I jump in and right when the water hits me in the face…_

… my eyes open.


	9. Part 1, Chapter 9: Zero Percent

** _Haruka Nanasa_ **

** **

“Time to wake up, Haru.” I hear a familiar voice and I get sucked back into reality.

I open my eyes and see Rin, Makoto, Rei, Nagisa and Gou hanging over me. They’re all in my tiny hospital room and I wonder how they’re able to fit inside.

“Good morning!” Nagisa greets me with a smile.

I hear a door opening followed by a voice asking everyone to sit down. It’s her… It’s the annoying nurse.

Everyone takes their seat and the nurse appears. She just stands there, in the middle of the room. There’s a beige file in her hands and she starts talking as soon as she opens it.

“Well, Haruka,” she says. “We have the results of your scan.”

Why must she remind me of that awful scan? I hated it! It was dark and creepy and there was no way I could leave.

Everyone’s eyes are shooting from me to the nurse and back to me. They seem more nervous than me, honestly.

“I’m sorry to tell you that it seems you have zero control over the lower part of your body,” she explains. Even though everyone already was silent, they sound even more quiet now.

I gasp.

_Does that mean… No!_

“There’s a big chance that you’re not able to walk ever again,” she says and she just keeps talking, and talking about every single fact and detail.

_I don’t care about walking! But what about…_

“Swimming?” I ask, only noticing that I said that out loud when everyone’s staring at me in a confused way.

“What?” The nurse looks at everyone, seeing if they know what I mean. No one looks back at her, they’re all focused on me.

“What about swimming?” I ask. “Can I still compete in tournaments?”

I look from the nurse at my friends. The sad looks on their faces honestly already answer my question. I don’t know whose face hurts the most to see. Nagisa, Rei and Gou are sadly looking at their laps. Rin’s not looking at me either, his eyes are fixated on something behind me. Makoto is staring into the distance and I’m almost sure that I can see tears in his eyes.

“Well…” The nurse stays silent for a moment. “I’m almost sure you won’t be able to compete in tournaments. You can’t control your legs.”

I look down at my lap and nod.

The nurse doesn’t stay in my room for a lot longer, she talks me over a few things I need to know and then she leaves.

When she leaves, it’s silent. No one says a thing, not even Nagisa.

I think my friends are disappointed in me. Disappointed because I was so careless, so foolish. I should’ve seen that car coming. I shouldn’t have been running in the middle of the night.

This is all my fault… and they know it.

I just wish I could find a way to apologize, but I can’t find the words. It’s all become too much.

No walking means no swimming. No swimming means no swim team. No swim team means no teammates. And worst of all… No teammates means no friends.

Which basically means I’m losing everything I care about.


	10. Part 1, Chapter 10: Training

** _Nagisa Hazuki_ **

My blue crayon scrapes over the piece of paper while I think of other ways to cheer up Haru. Haru seemed so sad when we left the hospital this afternoon. He looked broken. So I thought it would be fun to think of something to cheer him up.

I look at the mind map; there are some things that could potentially work, but none of the ideas are great. I’ve got things like “buy mackerel” or “sing him a happy song”, but I just can’t come up with something good.

I’ve called both Rei and Makoto to ask if they had any ideas, but none of them had anything that could work. Even the library had nothing on “how to make a paralyzed friend happy” or “cheering up sick friend”.

I lay my head down on my desk and tap my crayon on the table. I have to think of something before we visit again tomorrow.

I glance at the books that I did get at the library this afternoon. They all can tell me how to possibly train a paralyzed body. I’ve looked through most of them already, but most terms they use I’ve never heard of.

There’s only one left to read, so I take it in front of me and start reading. Again, there’s many terms I don’t get, things like Paraplegia and Quadriplegia. They must mean something important, but I don’t understand what they mean.

Eventually I come past a word that I do understand; Aqua. Aqua means water, which is a thing every swimmer should know.

I start reading focused. It’s quite interesting. Apparently there’s something called “Aquatic Therapy” and it basically means that your muscles are getting trained by therapy in water. The book tells me all kind of stuff that I still don’t get, but I now know that some people with paralysis are sooner to walk in water than on land. And that the aquatic therapy makes your muscles stronger and causes better mobility.

I grin and write everything that sounds interesting down. I have to make sure that the doctors allow Haru to get aquatic therapy. Even if it doesn’t work perfectly, it’ll still be a good excuse for him to be in the water.

I must tell this to someone, so I grab my phone as call Rei. It takes him a long time to pick up the phone, but eventually he does.

“Nagisa?” He sounds half asleep. “Why are you calling me in the middle of the night, if I may ask?”

“I’ve got it!” I shriek. I fold my hand in front of my mouth when I realize that I might wake up my parents. “I think I’ve found a way to cheer up Haru.”

Rei sounds like he has no idea what I’m talking about when he asks, “What?”

“Aquatic therapy,” I say. “It would be amazing for Haru because…”

“… it’s therapy in water, yes.” Rei completes my sentence.

I giggle and say, “We have to talk it over with the doctors. We have to make sure Haru can do this.”

Rei yawns. “Yes, let’s do that…” He pauses. “… in the morning. We’ll call Rin and Makoto and Gou in the morning and we can go to the hospital tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay!” I’m so glad I borrowed these books, now Haru may have a chance on swimming again.

Rei breaks the connection and I suddenly feel very tired. I fall asleep with my head resting on the book that gave me some hope that this might all turn out better than we thought.


	11. Part 1, Chapter 11: Cookies

** _Rei Ryuugazaki_ **

This morning we – Nagisa, Gou, Rin, Makoto and I – went to the hospital. Before we went to visit Haru, we had a talk with a doctor. We proposed Nagisa’s idea of aquatic therapy.

Fortunately the doctor agreed that it was a good idea, they really want to give it a chance. They did say that they’ll decide how to fill in the therapy. But the unfortunate part is that before they can start any therapy Haru should be operated on his back to get away all of the bone fragments. They could cause even more pain and if they start therapy without removing the bone fragments; it might even cause even more damage.

That’s not the unfortunate part, unfortunately. The worst part is that operations and therapy is pricy and Haru doesn’t have a lot of money… or supportive parents. I wonder if he even has parents to begin with.

That’s why we came up with the idea to pay it for him with the five of us. But when we put together our money, we still hadn’t enough by far. Nagisa and Makoto even begged their parents for some money, and they gave a little, but not enough.

I stare at the money which lies in the middle of the table.

“What about Soso and Ai?” Nagisa asks Rin. “Or Momo? Momo will give us money if we let Gou ask him, right?”

I look at Rin, who rolls his eyes at Nagisa.

“You can’t just go around and ask random people to give us money for Haru’s medical bills,” Rin says. He’s right, it’s very impolite to ask, because they don’t get anything off it.

“What about coach Sasabe, or Ms A?” Nagisa continues. He seems determined to make this work.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” Rin snaps at Nagisa.

I think of a way to make this work, but I can’t come up with anything. “What if we give something to people for their money?” I ask after readjusting my glasses.

“How?” Rin asks. “We’ve got nothing to give them.”

“We can make something.”

Makoto looks up. He understands me - I’m sure of it.

“Like homemade cookies?” Gou asks and Makoto’s eyes shoot from me to her. “And fresh lemonade?”

I nod, they understood me.

Makoto opens his mouth and adds, “We can sell them door to door, with a story of why we’re selling them.”

I nod again. “Let’s do that!”

We immediately decide who does what. Makoto starts writing down Haru’s story, while Gou and I bake the cookies and cake and Nagisa and Rin make different kinds of lemonade.

Within an hour the table at my house is filled with all kinds of baked goods – chocolate chip cookies, muffins, brownies, shortbread cookies, and much more – and with a few different lemonades. Everything’s set on large plates and we’ve made up a price for everything.

“Let’s try out our selling skills,” I say after we’ve all read what Makoto’s written on a piece of paper. “Nagisa, you can start.”

Nagisa steps forward and cheerfully smiles. “Would you like to buy something?” He sounds way too cheerful. “The money will go to a good objective. You see our friend got paralyzed and to get him to walk again we want to pay his surgery. Would you please help us by buying a cookie or some lemonade.”

I want to face-palm myself, I don’t think Nagisa even took a look at what Makoto wrote down.

“Okay.” I look at Makoto. “Makoto? What have you got?”

“Good afternoon, can I have a little moment of your time?” He’s really into his role, I can feel it. “My good friend, Haruka Nanase, used to be a really good swimmer. He loved it. But not so long ago he got hit by a car one day before a big tournament. Now he’s paralyzed and because of that unable to swim. My question to you is _could you help us by buying one of these baked goods? _Because if we get enough money together, Haruka will be able to get a surgery that might help him swim again. Please.”

I feel tears in my eyes, and when I look around the group I see that I’m not the only one. Everyone – even Rin – are definitely crying.

“That was beautiful, Makoto,” I say after a while.

After everyone’s done their little practice of selling the baked goods and lemonade, we go out on the streets. Everyone with their own trays.

I stand in front of a house, take a deep breath and knock on the door three times. It’s quite creepy to sell things to random people. Now I get how Nagisa felt when he had to get people to join the swim club, he basically had to sell the swim club to them so they would buy it.

The door opens and a woman appears in the doorway. She’s holding a baby in her arms and a little kid is hiding behind her legs.

“Good afternoon,” she greets me.

For a second I totally forget what to say, it was so much information. “Ehm, good afternoon,” I stammer and I decide to just make it up as I go. So I ask, “I was wondering if you’re interested in some delicious baked goods or fresh lemonade?”

A confused look appears on the lady’s face and she glances at the baked goods. I continue before she can answer my question. “I do this for a friend of mine. He was a great swimmer, but due to a car accident a few days ago he’s now paralyzed. We want to collect money to give him a change on swimming again.”

A sad smile appears on the lady’s face. “I guess buying some cookies won’t hurt, right?” She turns around to the kid hiding behind her. “Go tell the sir what you’d like, Aimi.”

The girl walks forward a little and stares at me with big eyes. I lower the tray a little bit so little Aimi can see what the choice is.

She points at the muffins and turns around to her mother asking, “Can I have that one, mommy?” The lady nods and tells me, “Three vanilla muffins, please.”

“Okay.” I put three vanilla muffins in a plastic bag. I found a load of little bags in a drawer in my kitchen. “That’ll be 720 yen, please.”

The woman gives the money to the kid and tells her to give it to me. She gives the money to me and says, “Thank you, sir.”

I smile at her and thank her for the money. They wave at me when I walk away on my way to the next house.

We meet back at my house about two to three hours later. Everyone’s trays are mostly empty.

“How much do we have?” I ask. We lay all of the money that we’ve got down on the table and start counting.

“Almost 4000 yen,” Makoto whispers and he chuckles nervously. “With our money that’s enough, more than enough.”

Nagisa shrieks of happiness and high-five’s me. I readjust my glasses and say, “Good job everyone. Because of us.” I pause and smile, “Haru might have a change at swimming again!”


	12. Part 1, Chapter 12: Surgery

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

My palms are sweaty, I feel nervous. This morning the doctors told me that I was going to need a surgery to remove some scattered fragments of my spine.

Everyone was here when the doctors told me. I didn’t want the surgery at first, I could never afford it anyway. But they told me the surgery was already paid, I almost had to go. It must’ve been one of my friends – or maybe even all of them – who paid it. I can’t say no now.

Now I’m laying on a surgery table. A bright light shines into my eyes as doctors prepare everything for my surgery.

I turn my head away from the light and take a look at the medical instruments on the table next to me. There are many sharp objects, some paper, gloves, little buckets and some other things I don’t recognize.

I’m scared.

My heart beats even faster than it does during swimming a tournament. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous for anything.

“Are you ready?” A doctor dressed in blue appears in the corner of my eye. He’s holding some kind of mask in his hand.

I want to shake my head, but I shrug instead. I don’t want them to know that I’m nervous. If I let it show they might tell my friends, I don’t want them to think that I’m this nervous for a surgery.

“Okay, we’re going to bring you under anesthesia,” he says and he holds up the gasmask. “All you have to do is count to ten out loud, you understand.”

I shrug again.

The doctor smiles and puts the gasmask over my mouth. “You can start counting, slowly.”

“One, two, three.” Nothing happens. What if this doesn’t work and I’ll be awake during the surgery?

“Four, five, six, seven.” My vision starts to get really blurry. Everything’s moving really slowly and my eyelids feel heavy.

“Eight, nine.” My eyes slowly close, I can’t keep them open any longer. I hear voices talking really far away.

_What if I don’t wake up anymore? Or what if something goes terribly wrong?_

I can’t go back now…

“Ten.”


	13. Part 1, Chapter 13: Sleeping Beauty

** _Makoto Tachibana_ **

We’re waiting… and waiting… and waiting.

I’m honestly quite worried about Haruka. He seemed really nervous for his surgery, but now he’s doing it anyway. Probably because Nagisa kind of let it slip that we were the ones who paid his medical bills.

I wonder if everything’s going okay in there.

“Are you okay, Mako?” Nagisa asks. “You look… pale.”

I look at Nagisa and shrug. “Just a little worried, that’s all.”

“You don’t have to be worried,” Nagisa says and he looks at Rei and Rin. “Right?”

Rei nods. “Haru’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”

I look at Rin, he’s been acting a little different today. I think he’s just developed a fear of people having surgeries. He told us a few days ago that Sousuke might need surgery for his shoulder, and now Haruka.

“A better question might be,” I gesture at Rin. “are _you_ okay, Rin?”

Rin looks up, his cheeks are a pink-ish red and I’m almost sure I see tears in his eyes. He immediately looks away and says, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Are you… crying?” Rei asks. I only now realize that Rei probably has never seen Rin’s emotional side.

Rin snickers nervously. “No!”

It’s clear Rin is in fact crying, but he’s too tough to admit it. Nagisa chuckles. Just when he opens his mouth to say something, a doctor walks towards us.

“The surgery went well,” he says and it’s like someone just told me that we just set a global record. Nagisa shrieks happily and hugs both me and Rei. When I look at Rin, I see that there’s a smile on his face too. And happy tears are running over his cheeks.

“Before you get too excited,” the doctor says in a serious voice. “This surgery is just to make sure that there’s not more damage done to his spine. We can’t assure that it’ll improve his control over the lower body.”

I look down at my feet. He’s right, that’s why we also paid a part for the aquatic therapy. We will make sure that Haruka can do what he likes.

“How is he now?” Rin asks.

“He’s still asleep, but he can wake up every moment,” the doctor replies. “If you promise to be calm and silent I’ll let you wait for him to wake up in his room.”

We all nod at the same time. That’d be perfect. That way, Haruka won’t be alone when he wakes up.

The doctor guides us to a quiet and dark room. Haruka’s bed is standing in the room, surrounded by a long curtain.

I sit down on a chair closest to Haruka’s head. His hair is a lot messier than normally. I have to admit, the tousled hair is a good look on Haruka. He’s laying on his back and his mouth is slightly opened. He looks calm, like he’s been in no fear during the surgery.

I’m just glad that everything went well. I just hope Haruka won’t be in much pain when he wakes up. I don’t want him to suffer.

I swallow away the lump in my throat.

_Why does it hurt so much to see Haruka how he is now? _I shake away the thought, I should just be glad that he’s got a change now.


	14. Part 1, Chapter 14: Homemade Soup

** _Rin Matsuoka_ **

** **

The days after the surgery, Haru isn’t allowed to do much. All he needs to do is take his medicines, eat healthy and most importantly get some rest.

Since we’re not all able to go by every day, we alternate. Today’s Makoto’s and my turn to visit Haru at the hospital. I wait for Makoto after swim practice and we take the bus to the hospital.

We knock on the door before we go inside, so we don’t startle Haru. Makoto walks inside, followed by me.

Haru’s sitting upright, his back leaning against a pile of pillows.

“Hey, Haruka,” Makoto says. “How are you doing?”

Haru shrugs. “Okay, I guess… but, please, don’t call me Haruka.”

Makoto awkwardly chuckles and apologizes.

“We made you soup,” I say to interrupt the awkward silence. “Makoto, you brought it, right?”

Makoto nods and rummages in his backpack.

Haru glances away and says, “You didn’t have to do that.”

I take a seat next to Haru’s bed, while Makoto re-heats the soup in the microwave. “Yes, we did,” I say. “You have to eat healthy and soup is healthier and tastier than the hospital food.”

Haru rolls his eyes at me. He’s still got such a huge attitude.

Makoto returns with the soup and a spoon. He hands it over to Haru, who wants to push it away before he’s even tasted it.

“Haruka,” Makoto says, while he tries to get Haru to eat the soup. “It’s mostly water.”

Haru glances at him and I see a slight blush on his cheeks. He really loves water, that’s clear.

After Makoto’s said that, Haru immediately eats the soup without complaining.


	15. Part 1, Chapter 15: Swimming Pool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Chapter 14 was so short, and I'm in a generous mood; Here's Chapter 15 as well :)  
Sunday 22-12-2019 will be the last chapter of part 1 of this story!!!
> 
> \- ImmediatelyWriting

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

The next days go by slowly.

I started something called aquatic therapy a few days ago. It’s nice to spend some time in the water, but it’s also really annoying. The therapists won’t let go of me, they hold me in place so tightly. I can’t learn to swim again if they don’t even let me swim.

I’m released from the hospital, but I can’t go home. The wheelchair really limits me in what I can do. Since I can’t go up stairs I have to sleep at other people’s houses.

Even though I don’t go to Samezuka myself, Rin was able to get them to allow me to sleep with the swim team in their rooms.

Now I’m lying on a mattress in Rin’s and Sousuke’s room. It took Rin the longest time to convince Sousuke, but eventually I was allowed to sleep here for a few nights.

It’s almost midnight, but I can’t sleep. I lay on my back and stare at the ceiling.

Whenever I can’t sleep I try to move my legs, but I never get them to do anything. I don’t even think the aquatic training is doing anything. It’s not like I can suddenly feel my legs now. To me it still feels like my body just stops somewhere halfway my back.

I sigh.

Rin and Sousuke are quite loud sleepers. They move a lot in their sleep, and Sousuke snores. Rin’s not much better, he talks in his sleep.

I need to get out of this room or I might get mad.

I glance at my wheelchair. I could go for a little stroll. All I have to do is get myself in my wheelchair.

I throw the blanket off myself and pull the wheelchair a little bit closer. Getting in there really takes a lot of force. I push myself up and pull until I’m somewhat sitting in the wheelchair. The rest is easy, I just adjust until I’m sitting better and I’m ready to go.

I ride through the hallways of the Samezuka building. It’s dark and there’s not much to see.

Then I see it… The swimming pool sign!

Without even wanting to I follow the signs until I’m suddenly in front of the swimming pool. It’s filled with beautiful clear water and it’s calling me.

This… only just looking at this pool is so much better than the aquatic therapy. This pool is big, and perfect.

I breathe out slowly and try to keep myself from going in.

But the water is too tempting, too clear and shiny. I can’t be next to a pool and not go in. I have to dive in, I have to swim!

I move closer… and closer.

I’m next to the water now, I just need to get in. I can’t learn to swim again without trying, this is the best way to do it.

I push myself out of the wheelchair, it falls onto the tiles with a lot of noise. I lay on the floor as well. I wonder if the noisee woke anyone up. I sure hope not, they’d get me away from the water immediately.

I drag myself to the side of the pool and slide into the water. The water is cool, and it feels amazing on my skin.

_I’m free!_

But only for one second. My arms slide through the water perfectly, but my legs won’t move. I grunt and I get pulled under for a few seconds. Water streams into my mouth.

_The water doesn’t like me anymore…_

I grab with my hands, looking for something to get me back to the surface again. My legs feel so heavy. They’re making me sink. My arms are doing all the work, but they aren’t strong enough.

I’m able to move to the side of the pool. My clothes are wet and cold and heavy, but I’m able pull myself onto the tiled floor.

I start coughing, water splattering from my mouth onto the floor. I lay down on the cold floor and pant.

_The water hates me!_

I feel a tear running over my cheek. I want to scream and cry, but nothing happens. I just lay there until my eyelids are getting so heavy that they close. I finally fall asleep.


	16. Part 1, Chapter 16: Soaked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter of part 1!!!

** _Rin Matsuoka_ **

I sit on the side of my bed and stare at Haru’s mattress. It’s… empty.

I have no idea where Haru is. His wheelchair is gone, so he could be anywhere. I look around the room/ He’s probably still in the building because his suitcase is still in my room.

“Sousuke?” I ask, and I hear a sleepy grunt not long after. “Do you know where Haru is?”

“What?” He sounds like he’s still half asleep.

“Haru’s not here.” I’m starting to get worried, knowing Haru he’s probably doing something not so smart.

“He’s probably just…” Sousuke pauses. “Wait, I think I heard some noise somewhere around midnight.”

That could be Haru, but it could also be literally anything else. This school is so big, I don’t know where I would look first. Haru could be anywhere.

I get dragged away from my thoughts when Momo and Ai run into my room. “Haru’s in the swimming pool!” Ai yells, he sounds nervous.

_Shit._

We all know Haru can’t swim. Haru himself knows it too; why would he do this?

My imagination is going wild, I see Haru laying on the bottom of the swimming pool. No one would know how long he’s in there. He could be dead.

I swallow away the lump in my throat and ask, “I-Is he okay?”

Ai glances away and shrugs. “He’s alive… and asleep.”

“We don’t know what to do with him,” Momo adds.

I let out a relieved sigh and get up. It’s nice to hear that he’s okay, that he didn’t drown.

I follow Ai and Momo to the swimming pool, where Haru’s laying on the floor. He’s soaked. Most of his body is laying on the tiles, one of his legs is still dangling off the edge and hanging in the water. His wheelchair is laying on the ground a little further.

Haru’s clearly sleeping, he must’ve exhausted himself. I don’t even get why he tried to swim in the first place, while he knew he can’t.

I crouch down next to him and carefully shake him awake. He grunts and turns his head to me.

His lips are purple and the pink of his cheeks is the only part of him that isn’t pale.

“Good morning.” His voice sounds hoarse, I think he might’ve been really cold all night.

“What were you thinking Haru?” I ask, while I hand him a towel. “You could’ve drowned, you know that?”

Haru shrugs. “I won’t learn to swim without trying.”

_That just sounds stupid! He’s so foolish!_

I shake my head. “That’s not how it works, Haru.”

He glances away and I think he might’ve found that out himself.

“You must be cold,” I chance the subject to something else. “Let’s get you in your wheelchair and get you some dry clothes, okay?”

Haru nods.

There’s a sad look on his face. He doesn’t look at me for the rest of the day, not even when I help him getting in his wheelchair. He seems ashamed.

When I see him sitting in the corner of the room, staring at us while we’re doing swim practice after school. I just know he still has a long way to go… and he knows it, too.


	17. Part 2, Chapter 1: All Good Things

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

Months went by and the school year ended in no time. Many things changed, most things in a good way.

I’ve got daily aquatic therapy and daily swim practice for the past few months. I’m doing quite okay in the water now, I think it’s liking me again. The only bad thing is that the doctors see me improving in the water so well, but there’s no improvement on land. I still have to use a wheelchair and I had to rent another house so I could actually go inside.

I’m not the only one who’s doing alright. Nagisa, Rei and Gou are busy with getting new members for the team, now the next school year has started.

Makoto enrolled in a school in Tokyo, where he’s learning to become a swim trainer and coach. He’s also got a job at a swimming pool. He told me I really inspired him, and now he’s teaching handicapped kids how to swim. I got to Tokyo one time to see how he was doing and he’s an amazing teacher to both classes and one-on-one.

Rin’s a little further away; he enrolled in a school in Australia. He’s getting ready to compete on global level. While he’s doing that, I’m getting ready to step on a plane to visit him.


	18. Part 2, Chapter 2: Airport Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!  
Because of Christmas I'll be posting 3 chapters of part two TODAY :)  
Have fun reading!
> 
> \- Noa

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

It’s a pain to get into a plane with a wheelchair, especially when you’re alone.

Fortunately I was allowed to board the plane a little earlier, but that didn’t help much. When I got here about half an hour ago, there were many more people trying to get to their plane in time.

They all surrounded me, making it really hard to find where I must go. But after looking and searching for quite some time I found a lady who showed me where I should go. From that moment everything went quick.

I’m now sitting in the back of the airplane and we’re getting ready to fly up.

I wonder how Rin’s doing, we haven’t talked a lot in the past few weeks because Rin was so busy practicing. I was busy most of the time as well, so I got home late most of the time.

I took a break off swim training, just to visit Rin in Australia.

The airplane moves upwards and I look out of the window. We slowly move through the clouds and it’s quite beautiful.

At first I thought flying would be slightly terrifying, because you’re so high. But the sky looks beautiful and there’s nothing creepy about it.

Before I know it I fall asleep and I notice nothing of the long flight.


	19. Part 2, Chapter 3: Warm Welcome

** _Rin Matsuoka_ **

I hold up the piece of cardboard when Haru’s plane has landed. It has “Haruka Nanase” written on it in all kinds of bright colors. He’s probably going to hate it though, but I had to do something special to welcome him in Australia.

There are many people who walk out at the same time, but it’s not hard to spot Haru. I don’t think it was hard to spot me either, because when I smile at Haru I see that he’s rolling his eyes.

“G’day, mate,” I joke when Haru’s close enough to hear me. Haru stares at me, confused, and it’s clear to me that he still doesn’t understand the Australian way of saying good day.

“Hi, Rin,” he replies after staring at me for a few seconds.

He hasn’t chanced a bit in the past few weeks. At least, not for as far as I can see on the outside. He’s still using his wheelchair and he’s still not smiling a lot, which is normal for Haru.

“How are you doing?” I ask while we move away from the crowd.

Haru shrugs, while he struggles to get past everyone. “Fine.”

Haru grunts when a man almost bumps into him.

“Can I help you, Haru?” I ask. Haru glances at me, he looks really confused. “By pushing you until we’re outside?”

Haru shakes his head at first, but when we’re not much further five minutes later, he admits that he could use some help. I push him until we’re outside, where it’s a bit less crowded than in the airport.

“So where do we want to go?” I ask after a while.

Haru shrugs and mumbles, “It’s quite late.”

He’s right, it’s already getting dark outside and I’m getting hungry for dinner. “I know a place where we can eat dinner.”

“Okay.”

We have to go there without the use of cars, because taxies reject Haru in his wheelchair. It’s really impolite honestly. But eventually we get there; my home-stay parents’ house. I’ve been visiting them sometimes lately, since I’m in Australia anyway. When Lori and Russel heard that Haru would be in Australia too for a few days, they asked if we’d eat dinner at their house one evening.

I knock on the door and glance at Haru. He seems distracted and when he looks from the house to me he says, “This doesn’t look like a restaurant.”

I snicker and shake my head. “No, it isn’t.”

Lori and Russel appear in the doorway before I can explain anything to Haru. Lori smiles and hugs me before I can even say “hello”.

“Rin!” She looks besides me, at Haru, and then she looks back at me. “Is that your friend Haruka?”

I nod and a sad look appears on her face. I hadn’t told Lori and Russel about Haru’s accident, because I didn’t want to bother them with it.

It’s clear that neither Lori or Russel knows what to say to Haru.

“It’s okay,” I whisper and I turn to Haru. “Haru, meet my home-stay parents.” Haru looks at me, then at Lori and Russel. “Lori and Russel.”

“Rin’s told us so much about you, Haruka!” Lori says cheerful, slightly forced. “How are you?”

Haru glances at me and answers, “Now, fine.”

It’s been quite some time ago that I heard Haru say that he’s fine and I actually believed it. I genuinely think Haru’s doing a lot better than the last time I saw him. That’s probably because he’s swimming again sometimes.

“Glad to hear,” Russel replies. “Why don’t you come in, food’s already on the table.”

I nod and go inside, followed by Haru.

The food is delicious and even though Lori and Russel seem slightly awkward with Haru here, it’s really enjoyable.

Haru and I leave at nine, and we go to my apartment. I get a mattress ready for Haru and we chat a little until it becomes eleven PM. After that we both fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again Merry Christmas!  
Let me know what you're thinking of part 2 so far :)
> 
> \- Noa


	20. Part 2, Chapter 4: "Hello, who's on the phone?"

** _Nagisa Hazuki_ **

The phone rings once… no twice, before someone picks up. The black screen goes over to video-calling and both Rin and Haru appear on the other side of the screen.

While they’re still comfortably laying in bed – Rin’s sitting on Haru’s mattress, while Haru’s still half asleep – we’re pressed up against each other to fit on the screen with the four of us.

I hold the phone, while Makoto, Gou and Rei are almost pushing me into the pool because they want to sqeeuze in as well.

“Good morning!” I yell and I almost drop the phone.

“Good morning,” Rin replies and he glances at Haru, who mumbles something inaudible.

“Hi, brother!” Gou shrieks. “How’s Australia?”

“Hi, Gou,” Rin replies. “Same as always, but why don’t you ask Haru?”

Haru glances at Rin and we lose connection for a second, giving me the perfect opportunity to make a screenshot while Haru’s looking at Rin like he’s going to kill him.

“Yes, how’s Australia?” Makoto asks when the connection is back. “Haruka?”

Haru opens his mouth, sighs as says, “It’s fun.” Which isn’t world’s most convincing answer when Haru says it.

“Glad to hear.” Rei suddenly joins the conversation as well.

Rin yawns on the other side of the line as glances at Haru. “But we have to get up, because I have something planned for today.”

A confused look appears on Haru’s face, but afterwards he shrugs. “Okay.”

“Well, bye,” I say. “Talk to you later!”

“Bye!” everyone says at the same time and we break the connection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww another one of those short chapters...  
This means: TWO chapters today :)
> 
> \- Love, Noa


	21. Part 2, Chapter 5: Shining Pool

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

Rin’s little surprise wasn’t really a surprise anymore. He has been talking about swimming and the swimming pool where he swims for the entire time.

Today we went there, like I suspected.

You would say that taking your paralyzed friend to a swimming pool wouldn’t be the greatest surprise, but he really makes me happy doing this. This means he believes me when I say that I can actually swim again.

We go inside, where Rin’s teammates are as well. They aren’t with many, because it’s weekend and there’s no actual swim practice going on today. One of Rin’s teammates looks up and greats us.

“Heya, mate!” he says to Rin. It’s hard to undertand what the man is saying because of his Australian accent. I wonder how Rin does it.

“G’day,” Rin replies, I didn’t know he’d actually use the weird greetings on anyone other than me. I chuckle, Australia is a weird land.

“Who’s your friend over there?” the Australian teammate asks.

“That’s Haru,” Rin answers, he looks at me and winks with a grin. “He’s a swimmer too.”

Rin’s teammate glances at me and I already know what he’s thinking. He doesn’t believe that someone in a wheelchair can actually swim.

“Really?” he asks me.

I nod.

“That, I want to see,” he says and he smiles at me. “If that’s okay with you?”

Rin looks at me.

I nod. “I’m in for a race.” I challenge him without a doubt, even though I’ll probably lose anyway.

I wheel myself to the side of the swimmingpool and let myself slide onto the edge. I glance over at Rin’s teammate, who’s still a little confused.

I put on my goggles and I hear Rin saying, “If you don’t race him, I will.”

I hear a short “I can do it” coming from Rin’s teammate and he steps on the starting block.

Rin yells, “Take your marks!”

I put my hands on the edge, making myself ready for the push-off.

“Go!”

And I go in.


	22. Part 2, Chapter 6: Push It!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!  
I had a busy day yesterday, so I wasn't able to post in the evening...  
So here's the 2 chapters which should've been posted yesterday.  
Sorry again!
> 
> \- Love, Noa <3

** _Rin Matsuoka_ **

“Go!” I yell.

Haru immediately pushes himself into the water. There’s a big force behind the push off, because he gets pretty far from the edge.

His body moves through the body seemless. It looks near beautiful.

When Haru’s arms start moving they pull him foreward through the water. The speed he’s getting would almost make you forget that his legs don’t do much.

He’s fast… faster than I thought he would be, but not as fast as he used to be. I just hope that doesn’t bother him.

It surely doesn’t bother me. I’m just so happy to see him swim, making that turn and finishing the match after such a long time… It’s beautiful.

Haru puts his hand on the side of the pool and his head swings upwards. There’s a slight smile on his face. And as water flies through the air, I feel a drip running down my cheek.

Haru looks at me, his eyes are sparkling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this proud, even though he didn’t win.

I smile and watch as Taylor – my teammate – looks at Haru and says, “You put up a good fight. Congrats.”

Haru looks at him, confused. “But you won.”

Taylor chuckles and climbs out of the water. “That’s not the point of swimming, right?” He glances at me and back at Haru. “You did a great job, and it looked like you had much fun. That’s what swimming is about.”

Haru glances away and shrugs. I couldn’t have expected a different reaction from him.

I walk to the water and stick out my hand to Haru. He grabs it and I pull him out of the water.

He sits down on the edge of the swimming pool and stares at his lap.

“Do you want to race against me as well?” I ask, because I would want to race Haru.

Haru looks up at me. For a second I think he’s going to say yes, but then he looks away.

Haru shakes his head, water falling down from his black hair.

“Not yet.”


	23. Part 2, Chapter 7: We Await you

** _Rei Ryuugazaki_ **

Nagisa’s close to climbing on my shoulders; he wants to see Haru and Rin so badly.

Their plane hasn’t arrive yet, so I don’t know why Nagisa’s already so eager to see them.

“So how, again, did Haru get Rin to go with him?” I ask Gou. “Doesn’t he have college stuff to do?”

Gou shrugs. “I don’t know, but I think Rin wanted to go on a little vacation anyway.”

“Or he just wanted to see us really badly,” Nagisa adds.

I look at both of them. They seem really happy that Rin is joining Haru.

“It’s a shame Makoto couldn’t come to pick them up with us,” I say after a while.

Makoto was way too busy with college… and there’s his job of course. It’s a busy man at the moment.

“Yeah,” Nagisa whispers. “But he’ll come by while Rin’s still here. He promised it!”

I turn around to Nagisa. “When did he promise that?” Nagisa’s never told me anything about Makoto making promises.

Nagisa starts to blush and his eyes shoot away.

He’s either making it up or he’s been having contact with Makoto in secret. Neither of both would surprise me.

Nagisa makes a sudden movement, shooting forward so quickly he almost pulls me over.

“Rin! Haru!” he yells.

When I’ve readjust my glasses, I see Rin and Haru getting closer. Rin’s waving at us, while Haru’s focused on getting himself past the crowd.

I look down at my hands. I’m still not holding up the “welcome home” banner. Which is a shame; we put so much time in making it.

I decide to hold it in the air, even though both Rin and Haru are already really close. Rin snickers when he sees it.

“Seriously?” Rin asks when they’re close enough.

“Yes, we thought it would be appropriat,” I say.

“And fun!” Nagisa adds.

I glance at Haru. There’s a slight smile on his face, but when he catches me looking at him, his face goes blank again.

“So, how was Australia?” Nagisa asks on our way out.

Rin and Haru both answer by saying that it was fun. I believe them. I wanted to go as well, so did Nagisa and Gou. But school kept us from going.

“Any new teammates?” Haru asks after a while. I didn’t expect that question to come from him, honestly.

Nagisa’s the one to reply first. “Yes, three new teammates even!” He’s been really enthusiastic over it since the moment they applied for the swim club.

Haru nods.

“Yeah, their names are Romio, Shizuru and Ayumu,” I add. “Two boys, one girl.”

Haru nods again. “Sounds fun.”

Everyone goes silent for a second. I wonder if Nagisa and I are too exided about the new teammates, while Haru’s seen his team split up. Nagisa and I, still in high-school. Makoto’s not even swimming real contests anymore. And Haru got an in-between-year so he can enroll in a good college in Tokyo.

But when I look at Haru, I see a smile on his face. A genuine smile. He’s actually happy for us.


	24. Part2, Chapter 8: Wheelchair man

** _Makoto Tachibana_ **

“You can do it, Akane,” I cheer as the little kid stands on the starting block. He’s nervous, that’s clear to me.

“You can do it!” the other children cheer with me. They’ve already jumped in.

Akane’s legs are shaking heavily. I walk towards him and ask, “Are you scared to jump in?”

Akane looks at me and nods. He seems ashamed of it, but he shouldn’t be. The starting block is really high, esspecially for a kid his age.

“Would it be less scary if I help you?” I ask and Akane nods. I jump into the water and stand in front of the starting block. “I’ll catch you, okay?”

Akane nods another time and gets ready to jump into the pool. Before he’s able to jump in another kid – Hana – points at something, distracting Akane.

“What’s that man doing?” Hana asks and everyone looks at the other side of the pool, including Akane. Akane loses balance and falls forward.

“Aah!” he shrieks when he falls off the starting block.

Fortunately I’m fast enough to catch him before he falls face first into the pool.

I look at Akane, clamping himself onto me. “Are you okay, Akane?” I ask.

Akane nods, but holds me tightly.

“What was that about, Hana?” I ask.

Hana looks away, blushing. “I’m sorry, Akane and coach Tachibana.”

One of the other children puts her hand in the air. “Coach, can people in a wheelchair swim?”

I frown and chuckle awkwardly. I wonder where this is coming from. “Some can, why do you ask?”

Hana opens her mouth and points at the other side of the pool. “There.”

I look at where Hana’s pointing at and gasp.

There’s a young man with black hair transfering himself from his wheelchair to a starting block.

I feel a smile appearing on my face as I realize that this can only be one person.

It’s Haruka.

“Is he really going to jump in?” Hana asks.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Akane asks.

I shake my head. “Not for him.”

“How do you know, coach?”

I look at the kids and say, “That’s a real good friend of mine.” I say it with a smile. It feels like I’m showing off, but I’m just really proud of Haruka. “That’s Haruka.”

“Can we cheer him on?” Hana asks.

“Yes, coach!” the other kids ask. “Can we?”

I nod. “Okay.”

“Go! Haruka!” Hana shouts, followed by the high-pitched voices of the other young kids.

Haruka glances at us. He seems confused when he sees the group of kids cheering him on.

“Go! Haruka!” I yell once, hoping he notices me.

Haruka’s eyes meet mine and a smile appears on his face. I looks back at the water, his hands clenching around the edge of the starting block.

I pushes himself off the starting block. He moves forwards, straightening his body.

He dives into the water.


	25. Part 2, Chapter 9: Relay Team

** _Rin Matsuoka_ **

“Hello? Haru?” I ask, when I pick up the phone. “Is that you?”

It stays silent for a few seconds and then I hear, “Yes, Rin.”

His voice sounds so serious, I don’t get why. “Is something wrong?” I ask. Haru’s making me worried.

“I’m ready,” Haru quietly says.

_Ready… with what? He doesn’t mean he’s ready with swimming, does he? _

“What?”

I feel my heartbeat fastening.

Haru sighs. “I’m challenging you and your relay team for a relay.”

I sigh relieved. Why did he have to make this so dramatic.

“Okay, yeah, sure,” I say, followed by a nervous chuckle. “When?”

“This evening,” Haru says. “At Sasabe’s pool.”

I nod. “Okay.”

It’s good he’s ready now, and not a few days later. I’d be back in Australia otherwise.

“See you this evening.”

Haru breaks the connection and everything goes silent. I lay back and sigh.

_How am I going to get a relay team together?_

Okay, I got Ai and Momo, they’ll do it for sure. But there’s Sousuke, who can’t swim competetive at the moment. I don’t know if he’d do it.

I stare at my phone.

I’d have to call him to find out.

I take a deep breath and type in his number. It rings a few times before Sousuke picks up.

“Yes, Rin?” His deep voice sounds through the speakers of my phone.

“Sousuke, I wanted to ask you something,” I begin. I look down to my lap, how am I going to ask this.

“Yes.” Sousuke is waiting for a question, but I have to think.

“Ehm, well.” I stammer. “What do you think about one last relay with the team?”

Sousuke stays silent for a while. “What?”

“Swim one more relay with Ai, Momo and me,” I say. “Against Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei.”

I hear a deep sigh. He’s not going to do it, I know it for sure.

I wait for an answer in silence.

“Sure,” Sousuke says after a while. “Why not.”


	26. Part 2, Chapter 10: Relay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, I have gone to the movies with a friend yesterday evening and totally forgot to post the new chapter... My fault... Here it is after all, sorry again for the longer wait...
> 
> Love, Noa <3

** _Haruka Nanase_ **

One last race.

One more time with my team against Rin’s.

One more time Iwatobi against Samezuka.

I take a deep breath as I wait for Rin to touch the wall, so I can jump in.

I look at Rin next to me, he seems slightly more nervous than usual. He’s focused on Sousuke, who’s swimming a lot less fast than normal.

“Good luck,” I mumble.

Rin looks up and nods. “You too.”

I look back at the pool and see that Rei’s nearly at the wall. His fingers touch the wall.

I give one push and dive into the water.

My fingers slide through as I move foreward.

I got a little lead, because of Sousuke, but Rin’s getting closer with every second that passes.

He got fast, really fast.

I move my head to take a breath, my eyes stare into Rin’s as he passes by me.

I hear Makoto, Nagisa and Rei shouting my name.

_That’s all I need. _

I take the turn, slow and steady. My hands pull me foreward and I see Rin swimming in the distance. The bubbles behind him, a view I normally don’t see.

It’s beautiful.

I swim. And I already hear Rin’s cheering on the other side of the pool.

I stretch out, but I don’t want this swim to be over just yet.

The cheering of my friends, fills me with happiness.

But before I know it my hand touches the wall and my head moves upwards.

I pull off my goggles and look next to me. There’s Rin, still standing in the water.

He holds his hand in the air. “This was amazing.”

I smile and nod. “Thank you.” I tap his hand softly.

Rin chuckles.

“You did a great job, Haruka,” I hear a voice saying. It’s Makoto.

When I look up I see him sticking out his hand at me. There’s a huge smile on his face when I take his hand and let him help me out of the water.

Nagisa and Rei don’t even give me the change to sit down. Makoto keeps me on my feet while they all hug me.

I feel tears in my eyes and I break into a smile when I feel even more people joining.

Tears start to run down my cheeks.

_I want this… for forever. _

I open my mouth and whisper, “Thank you all.”

The group hug gets ever tighter. I close my eyes.

“Thank you!”

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again :)
> 
> As you can see this is the LAST CHAPTER of this two part Haru sick-fic, I want to thank for reading it and I really hoped you liked it. If you did like it, (or you didn't) could you let me know in the comments together with some feedback, please?  
Take for instance:  
\- What was your favorite scene from the story?  
\- And least favorite?  
\- Did you see any mistakes? Spelling errors, or grammer?  
\- And what did I do right? And what not?
> 
> A learning writer, I will always be, but I can use your help getting better at it by learning what you do and don't like. So, if you want to help me, let me please know. I would love it if you would!
> 
> \- Love, Noa <3


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